York church sees results from investment in Kenya

The well and pumping for water to be used throughout the day at the Kenyan orphanage. (submitted)

Each girl at the orphanage has one cubicle of space that contains all of their possessions. (submitted)

York, PA -

Emmanuel United Church of Christ of York may be a small church, but it is driving major change 7,500 miles away.

Emmanuel, which rents space inside the Yorktown Community Center, began sponsoring students from the all-girl Mercy Home Orphanage in Kenya five years ago. The church pays for the girls to continue their education to what would be grades nine through 12 in the United States.

In Kenya, the government only pays for girls to attend public school through eighth grade, said Susan Zerbe, an Emmanuel member who recently returned from a 10-day trip to Kenya.

"We firmly do believe that for any nation to change their future, education is important," she said.

The Mercy Home Orphanage was set up in 1998 by Edward Buyengo, a local preacher, and his wife, Deborah. It is located in the village of Maseno, in western Kenya. According to the orphanage website, the area is very poor with few jobs.

Buyengo decided to focus primarily on providing a home for girls since it is commonplace in Kenya for the girls to be married off young in poor families, to both alleviate the burden of the family, and to gain a dowry to help sustain the rest of the family.

For the past five years, Emmanuel has paid for between 17 and 25 girls to remain in school. That adds up to about $5,000 per year from about two dozen active members of Emmanuel UCC.

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"Anything you read about the Third-World countries, it is the women who do the work and make the things happen and who will put their time back into the family and the community," Zerbe said. "That's another reason why we feel very good about keeping these girls in school."

Emmanuel is hosting a free program describing its mission efforts at 2 p.m. Sunday. A special guest, the Rev. Della Fahnestock, will be on hand to give a slideshow presentation. Fahnestock was Emmanuel's pastor when the Kenya program was developed.

She is now director of the Alliance Education Fund, a Tallahassee, Fla., organization that seeks to "empower women and girls through education."

If you go

What: Hands-On Kenya presentation

When: 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Emmanuel United Church of Christ, Yorktown Community Center, 1059 Kelly Drive, York

Cost: Free

Details: Visit
www.emmanuelyork.org/

SUBMITTED
Water for the day gets pumped from a well at the orphanage in Kenya.

SUBMITTED
Each girl at the orphanage has one cubicle of space that contains all of her possessions.